Private detectives roped in by parties ahead of poll

“We are not going by any caste consideration but purely on merit and winnability factor,” he added.

Polls are due to be held in Delhi, Chattisgargh, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram in November and December.

Though the concept of using private sleuths is not a new phenomenon, it has been limited to a few cases. But for the forthcoming polls, the Congress is using their full fledged services in gathering comprehensive information of its probable candidates.

The leadership of parties while finalising the list of nominees can hope to have detailed inputs of the potential candidate including whether he faced criminal cases and the influence he wields in the constituency.

When contacted, Chairman of Association of Private Detectives and Investigators Kunwar Vikram Singh said private detective agencies have been booked by the Congress as well as by other political parties.

“Correct information is the key in this battle. Many political parties, including the Congress have sought our services to get complete details about the winnability factor of the candidates,” Singh said.

The detective association’s president also said not only parties sought information about their own people but also about the likely opponents.

“The information sought is constituency wise and brings into radar everything including information about the likely opponents,” he said, adding that “Every party has their own information seeking apparatus but then at times they cannot be completely reliable due to various political interests playing around.”

The idea behind roping in a private eye by the political parties is to have a real good chance in the states going to election this time.

The role of private detective agencies in selection of candidates can be assessed from the final list that has been sent to the Congress high command for actual selection.

While the political parties would be taking into account the reports of local leaders, it is the independent comment which will have a greater say in the selection of candidates, leaders of various political parties said.